Bit of numbness

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

About a week ago I took a pranakria class from a teacher who held us in postures longer than I am used to. In particular a “balancing stick” posture seemed stressful and though I backed out before the posture ended I now had a numb sensation on the right side of my right leg and lower buttock since which I am associating, perhaps incorrectly, with that posture. I am assuming this is a mild sciatica condition and since there is no pain or weakness associated with it I am thinking it will go away. I have only practiced once since then and avoided any balancing stick type postures.

Any similar experiences or thoughts on possible therapy for this condition. (I am 47, male, very big but not overweight at 6,6 235bs. Just in case such info is helpfull)

#2

What’s up Dawg?
(always wanted to say that. Thank you).

What that system refers to as Balancing Stick appears to me to be Virabhadrasana III. Whether what you are experiencing is “from that posture” or not, I could not say.

What I would delve into relative to the postures and the teaching is whether that class and posture are appropriate to the student’s level of practice AND whether the posture has been properly introduced, the body properly prepared and warmed AND whether the student’s current state of being warrant that the pose be modified.

What you describe does resemble certain issues involving the sciatic nerve. The question is whether you’ve got pressure on the nerve from something going on in your lumbo-sacral spine or whether you’ve got pressure coming from a cranky piriformis muscle.

In an ideal world with an advanced student that determination is made by going within. When that is not possible then the teacher should be available enough, trained enough, wise enough, to provide sound assistance.

gordon

#3

Thanks I.A. The teacher was not a regular teacher of mine (I am starting to think the whole one Guru concept makes sense) and while knowledgeable did not seem that experienced. But I can only blame myself. I seem to be susceptible to minor injuries. I am not always careful and I am sometimes reluctant to back out of a posture because all of the people 20 years younger than me in the class are just zooming along. Got to work on that ego.

Anyway thanks for your comments. The numbness seems a little better today after a Bikram class. I generally prefer my favorite teachers yoga which can be loosely cataloged as power yoga but I find that, for myself, Bikram does have a healing quality with these kinds of injuries, even if it is a little like going to Mass in a Sauna!